Keeping Calm & Carrying On

DIY: An Art Fair Project

It's that time of year, when my sister and my nieces call me up for help with the grade school's annual Art Fair projects! It's secretly something I love...probably even more than the kids do. ha!

This go-around, it was Madelyn's turn, and trust me I know how these things go. The fourth graders show up with these MIRACULOUS projects that "they did all by themselves." You mean to tell me that you hand-cut, carved and painted that wood bird house? I don't think so. I know that YOU KNOW what and who I'm talking about!

So, it's important to me that this project is completed BY MADELYN, on her own!

YARN LETTERS! LET'S MAKE YARN-WRAPPED LETTERS!

This was such a great project for her to do because it requires TIME and patience. Plus, you can do this anywhere anytime. Madelyn has been looking for things to decorate her room with and so we bought brown paper mache letters from our local JoAnn Fabrics store, spelling out her name.

We brought her pillow case with us to JoAnns and picked out perfectly matching colors of yarn for each letter.

Depending on how much of a perfectionist you are, one roll of fluffy plush yarn can cover 1-2 letters.

So we went shopping together and I sent her home, giving her ONE WEEK (that's one letter a day) to wrap all her letters and with yarn and told her after they were done we'd get together again and "embellish" them.

So just a few nights ago she came over with her letters all wrapped up and I had pulled out a bunch of scrapbooking cotton and paper flowers from my stash including Bella Blvd's Blooms A Bella flowers, some handmade Etsy embellishments I purchased a while ago and some Prima paper roses...all that coordinated with her color scheme.

After the hot-glue gun was all warmed up, we worked together (so that no flesh was burned in the making of these darling letters) to cluster them together and glue them on. 

After the Art Fair they're going to look so adorable on a shelf in her bedroom, don't you think?!

Sock Monkey Mommy's Day: Part 2

Earlier this week (On Monday) I reveal Part 1 of the Sock Monkey Mommy's Day I hosted for Allyson, who's a expecting her fourth little girl.

Welcome to Part 2. Today I'm going to share with you all the details of the dessert buffet, and some fun group photos we took towards the end of the party.

That's me, Maxine the Mommy Sock-Monkey, and the Guest of Honor-Allyson. Gotta love the props for the photos, right?! We couldn't help but give some Monkey Kisses ;)

In the dining room everything was about desserts, desserts, desserts. I planned ahead for candies that matched Allyson's sock-monkey color scheme, ordered cupcakes from Gigi's and even packaged some munchies to go!

The secret to a good candy buffet is: it's all in the details. To each jar I added ribbon or tulle, and a paper label (printed and then punch with scrapbooking punches). At the far left end of the buffet are clear bags and ties for guests to make a treat bag to take home with them, and for their kiddos too.

I've been collecting apothecary jars for a couple  years now, so I'm always all set to rock-and-roll for a party like this...I just have to search out the perfect candy contents. Another tip: It's nice to have packaged candy inside the jars. It makes for easier, mess-free clean up. I've learned this the hard way a few times! I tried to do my best with monkey-themed things like Animal Crackers, Monkey licorice stix, tootsie rolls, Sour Monkey Tails.....and more.

It's important ot urge everyone to make a treat bag, otherwise I can solemnly promise that you will be eating and snacking on candy for weeks to come because it will be sitting around your house.

I designed some Hershey Bar wrappers and came up with these "Monkey Bars" :)

These mini chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes were heavenly, even better than I imagined. I created fun little cupcake sticks by printing some of the elements I designed for the invitation, punching them out with a circle punch, and  popping them back-to-back on top of a toothpick.

I couldn't help but make some puppy chow, or "Monkey Chow" as I re-named it. Because it's such a powdered sugary, messy treat, I pre-bagged them all and created some paper toppers by folding over (covering the zip-lock) some of my Sophisticates patterned papers and finishing off with a "Monkey Chow" paper seal. 

These were great grab and go kinds of treats. Last but not least I wrapped the water bottles with some paper wraps I designed.

 A couple weeks ago I shared an Instagram photo of my Nana and I working on a fabric project. Well, the fabulous seamstress that she is helped me hem-up the pink gingham table runner you see above, and also helped be sew these adorable little fabric pouches that were goodie bags that each guest left with on their way out...

I found the directions and tutorial via Pinterest, by Martha Stewart. I picked up the fabrics at my local Walmart's fabric section and bought some travel size lotions and hand sanitizers from Bath and Body works for each guest. These fabric bags are super re-usable too! I love them!

Three generations....Grandma, Daughter and Baby on the way....

A good friend from Canada even scheduled a trip to Milwaukee just so that she could be here for Allyson's Mommy Day! Allyson and I had a great time showing Jennifer around Milwaukee throughout the weekend!

I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful friend like Allyson. She truly is a super awesome friend, an organized mommy, and a great wife too. I only hope someday I can juggle everything like she does in her household!

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and following along.

Sock Monkey Mommy's Day: Part 1

That I love to host parties and get-togethers?

Recently my girlfriend, Allyson, found out she was pregnant with her fourth baby girl! Can you believe it, four girls! Wow! I am so happy for her and know she probably doesn't need anything, especially a baby shower....so instead I threw her a "Mommy's Day."

Allyson's baby has been named Alayna and Allyson has been brainstorming and creating a beautiful baby's bedroom for her with a sock-monkey theme....so what better way to celebrate that with a Sock Monkey themed Momm'ys Day! Here's the invitations I created and mailed out:

Today is Part 1 of the Sock Monkey Mommy day where I'll reveal the decorations and games we played. Let's start here at the front door!

I've been collecting sock monkeys from here, there and everywhere for the past three months knowing I was going to throw the party. I found this super cute idea on Pinterest to wrap styrofoam wreaths with yarn. It was time-consuming but not strenuous to do at all while catching up on Days of our Lives and the NCAA tournament.

There's the mommy, Allyson ;) Dresses perfectly in matching colors ;)

I created three different wreaths, in three different sizes and the colors that match Alayna's nursery. Post-party all the decor and props were gifted to Allyson.

I had so much fun with the yarn that I made paper mache wrapped yarn letters too spelling

A-L-A-Y-N-A, but I don't seem to have taken any photos of them....crazy!

When guests arrived they were greeted by "Mommy Maxine" and her sock monkey babies. The invitations asked everyone bring some funky socks for Allyson, because she's a funky sock collector! She went home with this big basket of cute and adorable socks from everyone.

As my usual parties, it's nice to help out the "guest of honor" by having everyone self-address an envelope for the thank-yous she'll have to send later....

I found that super fun springy monkey pen at Pier 1: great little detail, huh?!

The house was decorated with sock monkey babies.

Because shower games aren't always the most fun, I just limited it to one game with two different rounds. We played Scattegories based on the popular family game, using the letter "A" (Alayna) in round one, and the little "M" (Meinholz-last name) for round 2.

Most everyone participated and two monkey-themed prizes were given out to the winners with the most points (Monkey/Banana salt & pepper shaker from Pier 1, and a Monkey patterned photo album that I snagged at Target!)

I designed fun little game papers, printed them out and even the Mommy-to-be got to play too!

Allyson opened several sock-monkey themed gifts from onesies to hats and this beautiful handmade quilt by her Alayna's Nana. I definitely learned a lot at this party---it makes sense to have a theme. It gives family, friends and guests inspiration for gifts....and Allyson received some awesome sock-monkey themed gifts!

This ends Part 1 of the party. I hope you'll stop back on Friday (May 4th) to see part 2 which includes several pictures from the dessert buffet and friends/group shots!

Here's a sneak peek of the dessert buffet that I'll reveal on Friday...

See you soon!

Ring Bearer Invitation

Three wedding-posts in one-week. Sorry. I just can't help myself. ;) Earlier this week I shared the faux book invitations I sent out to my soon-to-be Maid of Honor and Bridesmaids. Before shipping out the boxes to my girls, I realized a problem:

My 2 neieces & sister would be receiving "fun mail" & poor Carson (my five-year-old nephew) who lives in same house (obviously) wouldn't get anything!

Well, that's just sadness, don't you think? 

So I whipped him up his own little invitation and shipped it out too.

Steven and I knew we wanted Carson to be our ring-bearer all along, but didn't intend to send any invitations out to the boys....because....boys are boys. They prefer to just say, "hey dude, wanna be in my wedding?" ha! Isn't that the truth?! But I just knew Carson would be sad if didn't get anything. He'd ask, "Am I going to be in the wedding mom? What about me?!" And I just couldn't have that.

One more time, I must give credit where credit is due. This invitation was inspired by Bethany of Rinse & Repeat. I discovered her bridal invitations via Wedding Chicks a few weeks ago and I just couldn't resist making my own version.

I started with this naked wooden cigar box I bought at Michael's craft store. I didn't want carson's invitation to be half as girly or detailed as the bridesmaids so I personalized it just for him, adding Bella chipboard letters to the front, after adhering patterned paper (Sophisticates Sprinkles & Lace Oreo patterned from Bella Blvd). I bought those fun little faux diamond rings at Michael's too and knotted them with the blake tulle wrap.

Because for little boys invitations like this are more about the fun and the "presents" than anything else, I bought him some candies and randomness for inside the box. I had to include pink somewhere to coordinate with the wedding colors, so I adhered another Sprinkles & Lace (peep) Patterned paper to the inside of the lid.

I used the same style invite/detail cards for Carson, but narrowed them down to three instead of four like the girls. The differences between his & the Bridesmaid's cards are that this one is from ME & STEVEN, including a photo of Steven and Carson on the "From the Bride & Groom" tab.

Here's an up-close of the three cards. If you click on the photo above, it will enlarge for your reading pleasure ;) Steven & I had fun making a clever little list of things under "Your Role" for Carson on our big day. Gosh, I can't wait to see him in a tux. He's going to be so stinkin' handsome.

Inside we included some wedding-related puns (Ring-Pop suckers & Pop Rocks candy) and some of Carson & Steve's favorite things-like Big League Chew (gum).

Other random goodies included a fresh set of markers, a funky red pencil and some more faux wedding rings. (Who knows maybe they'll come in handy for him when he discovers that the girls in Kindergarten don't have cuties and proposes too ;)

Bridesmaids Invites: Part 2 - Contents

Are you ready to see what's inside the faux box Bridesmaids Invitations?

(First I want to remind you the inspiration for these Bridesmaids invitations came from Bethany via Wedding Chicks. You can visit her blog by clicking here.)

I must admit I wish I had installed a miniature camera inside each one of these babies. I would have paid money to see the girls faces as they received and discovered these Bridal Party invites.

Inside the faux boxes are several artifacts, handmade gifts, details and more. To begin I trimmed some of my favorite word/heart script patterned paper from my Lovey Dovey collection to fit inside the books perfectly, as a background pattern. (Bethany's original had fabric hanker-chiefs).

The main purpose of this gesture: To Invite Each Girl to be in My Wedding Party.

Therefore, I wanted these elements to be the largest in the box, in hopes they would be spotted first. (Of course, all this depended on how tossed they were during shipping & delivery.)

Next, I spent a couple nights writing out what I wanted to say to the girls and about the girls. 

Thank you to Bethany for the prompts and sentence-starters. I used her style to generate my messages. Here's a glimpse of Bethany's invitations:

(Photo Credit: Bethany of Rinse & Repeat.)

You can see I mimicked the staggered-style and tab design with my cards as well. I thought this was a great idea by Bethany because it didn't reveal all the information at once.

The top card, "From the Bride..." gets straight to the point: Will you be my Bridesmaid?

The only varied element is the Polaroid-style photo & text underneath. In each girls box I added a recent or favorite photograph of me and her--a personal touch that I love.

The second card, "Our Wedding Day..." includes the details that we know of so far.

Yes, we've picked a day and a place! I wanted my girls to be the first to know...and they were! I actually took a couple of them with me to see the reception venue recently & fibbed a little saying, "we're still trying to decide between this & another one...and we have a few different dates we're looking at"--all the while it was secured and booked ;) 

(Only my mom & dad were aware of the date a couple weeks ago already!)

The third card, "Your Role" is 100% inspired by Bethany. I agreed with her when she wrote on her invites, "I know weddings can become a lot of work for Bridesmaids." Therefore I started off the same way. The other important piece for me was that I know my creativity and attention to details can be a bit intimidating so I wanted to reassure them not to worry!

The fourth & last card, "My Favorite Girls" is 100% inspired by Bethany.

I loved how she included short blurbs about each of the girls-both serious & humorous. The tidbits allowed each girl to learn a bit about the others, and at the same time, be informed as to who else is being invited into the wedding party. All the answers are contained on this card!

It was important for me to also include contact information for each girl (email & phone number), so that they can chat and have all the information they need right here in one place. (If you'd like to read more of the details, view the larger image by clicking on it below.)

After removing the invitation and detail cards from the faux book, the box holds lots of fun little treasures, gifts and artifacts I put together just for them!

Here's a photograph of the contents:

1. SWATCHES

I've been working on colors for a couple weeks now--knowing that pink will be in charge I wanted to select a palette with a couple more hints of color. I create a this wallet-size "color chart" for the girls by printing on photo paper, trimming, then folding and adhering closed.

Then I snuck off to Home Depot with my Pantone color book and selected the coordinating swatches. (Confession: I may or may not have helped myself to 9 of each swatch. I'm sorry Home Depot I know this is NOT what they are meant for).

I trimmed them so they'd be cute & bite-size, then punched them with my Crop-A-Dile and bound them with a tine .75" silver key-ring.

Next up are some vintage elements...

2. VINTAGE GIFT TAG

A girl couldn't help but create a scrapbooking-style element for the box. With a shipping tag, a pink Prima paper flower - say that three times fast! ha! (Same flower style as on the box's front cover) and a doily I whipped up these "love-themed" gift tags.

I printed and added another sweet & romantical quote for the tag, "He & she were meant to be...brought together by destiny." The girls can save the tag as a wedding artifact or re-gift it on a wedding, anniversary or love gift in the future.

3. POLAROID- STYLE INSPIRATION ELEMENTS

After pinning several hundred ideas already on Pinterest, I selected a few of my favorites, then created faux Polaroids out of them, added a blurbs, printed and trimmed. 

I hope these inspiration elements will help the girls invision what I'm thinking and the direction we are taking for the wedding. 

4. HANDMADE FRIEND MAGNET

This idea came to me out of the blue. Steven & I are remodeling the bathroom and we have selected these petite white-wash bricks for the shower surround mosaic. I just love the stones and so I took one of the 12x12" square feet pieces and ripped it apart.

I added some twine, a Bella wooden button and the "friends" cardstock flag (I printed). To the back I glued a heavy duty magnet...

What a fun little favor/gift for the girls to keep on their fridge! 

And last but not least, inside the boxes are these

5. TEXTURED FRIENDSHIP CARDS

Inspired by ATC cards, I created these with the remnant paint swatches (Home Depot), a snippet of burlap, and a swatch of pink lace ribbon. Another printed quote and a toothpick later, the friendship card is complete.

These cards serve as a pleasant reminder of how much I value my girls and our friendships. The texture including burlap and lace are elements that I hope to incorporate all over the wedding decor as the decor evolves.

If you've stayed with me this long, congratulations! You've made it to the end!

I also designed a "Ring Bearer" invitation (a lot less involved) for my nephew....

Because how could my two nieces receive such fun mail and nothing for him?! I had too. I'll share that with you on Saturday....I presume you're overwhelmed by now!

Thanks for reading along! And thank you, again to Bethany of Rinse & Repeat for sparking this idea. The project took me about 10 days from start to finish (shopping & all). I stayed up way too late as I "got in the groove" and was inspired.

Bridesmaids Invites: Part 1

First things first, I take absolutely no credit for this invitation idea. It was not born in my brain. I was inspired by Bethany of "Rinse and Repeat" (check out her blog it's awesome---she's an amazing writer), after I saw her "Will You Be..." feature over at Wedding Chicks. Here's a peek of the cigar boxes she created and shipped to her soon-to-be wedding Bridesmaids:

(Visit the links above to see the entire feature! Photo credit: Bethany of Rinse & Repeat)

Now do you see why and how I was overcome with ideas and knew I had to "scrap-lift" the idea in my own way. All the credit belongs to Bethany though, for sure!

As I mentioned on Monday, I have narrowed down the theme/look of mine and Steven's wedding: Vintage Chic. Pink (of course)! Think pretty, lacey, rustic. oooh, I'm so excited just saying it!

First things first:

Why do this?

Well, I really wanted to find a creative way to invite my girls to stand next me at the altar on my big day. They're important to me, and I want them to feel important. I know what it takes to be in a wedding party & I want them to know that I am willing to go the extra mile for them too! Also, I know my sisters expect to be in the wedding (as they should) and so somehow I wanted to "surprise" them & change it up a bit. But mostly, I want the girls to have a preview of what's the come. I enjoy all the little details, and I think this invitation will make them feel special and more importantly, give them a glimpse into my mind so that they can see what I want and where I'm headed. Plus, who doesn't love to receive "fun mail"?? 

Part 1 of "Bridemaids Invites" I'll be Showing You:

"The Invite Box" and How I Altered It.

I found these boxes in the seasonal section at my local Michael's craft store a couple weeks ago. I've been working on this "top secret project" ever since then! These boxes are faux books that are actually meant for decorative home storage. The cover is secured closed magnetically, and the inside is lined with velvet fabric.

I love them because they are the perfect fit: weathered, brown and the perfect size (not too big and not too small ;). I wanted to customize the boxes to make them my own. So I bought some printable 8.5x11" canvas paper. (at my local JoAnn Fabrics store). Each canvas sheet is backed with paper so it's easy to feed into an ink-jet printer. 

After printing, simply peel away the paper backing and wha-la! (I also frayed the edges of my canvas by peeling apart the edges). I printed the exact same photo of Steven and I in two different sizes: one for the front cover and one for the spine of the faux books/boxes. 

Next, I used my favorite Scotch liquid glue & a cheapy paintbrush to adhere & seal the canvas photo to the faux books. Here's a visual step-by-step.

Step and repeat, step and repeat (in my case x8 for the girls that I have invited to be in my wedding party). What do you think??? You like?

Now for the fun part: embellishing the cover!

I've been thrifting around town on the weekends (Goodwill, USA Family Thrift, Antiques on Second and more awesome shops in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward). I found this super awesome lacey tablecloth at USA Thrift for $2.50

SCORE! Seriously, only two dollars and fifty cents. (I wish they had 50 of them!) I cut the tablecloth into strips: wrapped and then tied a knot around the entire front and inside covers. 

Then I printed a sweet, romantical quote (for the front cover) onto cardstock, cut it into strips and adhered with the same Scotch glue. I finished the boxes by embellishing with Prima paper roses, a hand-cut paper leaf and some of Bella's wooden buttons.

Lovin' me some texture!

Don't you want to see what's inside? What the girls saw when they opened their happy mail?! Later today I'll show you the contents in detail! Be sure to stop back!!

Teaser: Top Secret Project

I know it's Monday and wedding updates are normally posted on Wednesday, but I must show you a teaser of a "top secret project" I've been working on for a couple weeks now. I've been making a MESS and getting super excited about the direction of mine and Steven's wedding.

I've been thrifting and collecting things for a couple weeks now because I've finally narrowed in a vision! You have no idea how big of a deal that is for me, considering how many ideas are flowing all over the place! Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Okay...so my top secret project is the reveal of how I've invited my wedding party to actually be in my wedding party! Prepare for a couple different posts on Wednesday-I'm so excited 2 show u! Here's a sneak peek!

And just in case you're wondering...YES that's our dining room table! Poor Steve....the clutter is just beginning! ha!

Be sure to stop back Wednesday for the full reveal!

Shadow Box

I take no credit for this beautiful embellishment shadowbox. Isn't it delicious? One of my girls (Therese) put this together for the Bella Blvd CHA Booth display in January. The wonderful perk of owning the company is I get to keep fabulous creations like this!

It's currently in my scrapbook room at home waiting for a beautiful place to be hung. I just am in love with the new buttons, crochet flowers & stick pin flags!

Create some home decor with your random goodies! I dare you.

An Awesome Birthday Gift!

Look what I got for my birthday a couple weeks ago!

I'm in love with this fun little gadget, the Instax Mini 7S! On Christmas Eve my Uncle Gary appropriately named it "The Marshmallow Camera". So that's what we call it now!

I decided to make it an Instax Christmas and picked up a bunch of film at American Eagle for 40% off and enjoyed every minute of it this past week!

For those of you that haven't seen this camera in stores....it's Fuji's version of a Polariod but it takes "mini" photos! It operates on batteries and the photo dispenses vertically out of the top of the camera right after you take the photo.

I took lots of pictures with my Instax....check 'em out!

Now...what to do with theis fun stack of photos?! I've been searching Pinterest and found these cool ideas:

I could create a fun little mini book! (photo credit) or...

Clip them in a fun-colored hallow frame! (photo credit)

Check this pretty one out!

(photo credit)

or.....check out this amazing-ness!

(photo credit) This is crazy awesome!!!!!

If you haven't bought one of these I honestly DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE WAITING FOR! It's so much fun....and if you have a hard time getting people to take pictures, this marshallow camera seems to cure that problem! Everyone seems to be so intrigued by it's uniqueness that they'll smile for you....even the little stubborn kiddos!

More cuteness coming soon!

A Beautiful Holiday Centerpiece

First off, I take absolutely NO CREDIT for this beautiful handmade centerpiece idea today! Just for the record.

On my birthday my dear friend Allyson walked in to surprise me with these beautiful roses.....with a handmade touch! Look at what she glued around the entire vase?! Omg....in love....and they are pink! 

I'm totally using it this weekend as my Christmas Centerpiece! What a great gift!

Allyson said it was pretty easy (once she got all the pink candy canes!), she just hot glued on a low temperature setting one-by-one and tied with a ribbon wrap. You still have time to make yours!!!!! Are you ready for Christmas?

LOCK DOWN

That's what I like to call my life these days. Do you know why? Because I'm in hiberation until I finish designing new products for Bella Blvd! It's the hap-happiest season of all!

I must confess: I am much more creative at night! Wish me look and send good creative juices my way! Poor Baby Mio is stuck working with me too! (He looks kind of annoyed, huh?!)

One more quick thing before I leave....today over at Bella I'm sharing a SUPER QUICK & EASY home decor idea! Stop by to check it out, but here's a peek for now!

Ciao ciao for now! Hugs...

New Feature!

Introducing another new feature I'd like to bring you regularly around here ;) Sometimes little projects.... & other times *larger than life* projects; I often am inspired to create something handmade. I hope this feature will inspire you to be creative, handy and thrify too ;)

When I saw these on Pinterest a while back I knew it would make a *great* project to do with my nieces and nephew! I was waiting for the right time!

I always think the "perfect Thanksgiving decor" is really hard to find. There's plenty of pumpkins and pilgrims, but nothing really "beautiful" that I'm proud to put around the house...at least that I've found so far.

Each year at Thanksgiving....the kids really enjoy helping prep the food, set the tables and be my little helpers, so we plan a sleepover the night before our big feast so we can get evetything ready, and wake up early to stuff the bird and get 'em in the oven! One of the challenges during the holidays is only having ONE oven. So, while things were baking we needed something to do! What a perfect time to create some Thanksgiving decor!

First, stop at your local craft supply store and pick up these brown paper mache letters, spelling out a holiday word, your family's last name, etc. (We bought ours at JoAnns Superstore). Then choose an array of yarn colors that coordinate with the holiday color scheme you are planning. I also purchased some stick pins to start and end the yarn with.

It's a fool-proof DIY project actually. I mean, there's NO WRONG way to wrap yarn around paper mache letters! It's a great idea for all ages!

Begin wrapping!

Keep in mind Carson is only FIVE years old.....he loved this because he could do everything that the big girls were doing too!

The corners are a bit tricky...need to be a bit more patient on those!

But some letters (like the "T" above) are super quick and easy.

Layer, Layer and layer. Keep wrapping, every which way!

I love the texture of the finished letter.We used stick pins to complete the strand of yarn. (You can see one in the photo above on the pink letter "A" near the bottom.) From far away you can't even notice them!

The letters made for great Thanksgiving Day decor on the mantle! Now I'm thinking about Christmas..........what word to use.....

wish

merry

ho ho ho

Any suggestions?